musicfandomcom-20200222-history
Don't You Want Me
"Don't You Want Me" is a single by British synthpop group The Human League, released on 27 November 1981 as the fourth single from their third studio album Dare(1981). It is the band's best known and most commercially successful recording to date. In 1981 it was the Christmas number one in the UK, where it has since sold over 1,560,000 copies, making it the 23rd most successful single in UK Singles Chart history.[1] It later topped the Billboard Hot 100 in the US on 3 July 1982 where it stayed for three weeks. The title is frequently misprinted by the media and by covering artists as "Don't You Want Me Baby",[2] which is a prominent lyric in the song's chorus. Contents http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_You_Want_Me# hide *1 Background *2 Chart performance and sales *3 Music video *4 Charts and certifications **4.1 1981 release **4.2 Year-End charts **4.3 1995 Re-issue **4.4 2014 **4.5 Sales and certifications *5 Use in commercials *6 Use in television *7 Use in sports *8 Track listing **8.1 7" version **8.2 12" version *9 Covers **9.1 Mandy Smith version ***9.1.1 Charts **9.2 Alcazar version ***9.2.1 Formats and track listings ***9.2.2 Chart performance **9.3 Other versions *10 References *11 External links Backgroundhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Don%27t_You_Want_Me&action=edit&section=1 edit The lyrics were originally inspired after lead singer Philip Oakey read a photo-story in a teen-girl's magazine. Originally conceived and recorded in the studio as a male solo, Oakey was inspired by the film A Star Is Born and decided to turn the song into a conflicting duet with one of the band’s two teenage female vocalists. Susan Ann Sulley was then asked to take on the role. Up until then, she and the other female vocalistJoanne Catherall had only been assigned backing vocals; Sulley says she was chosen only through "luck of the draw".[3] Musicians Jo Callis and Philip Adrian Wright created a synthesizer score to accompany the lyrics which was much harsher than the version that was actually released. Initial versions of the song were recorded but Virgin Records-appointed producer Martin Rushent was unhappy with them. He and Callis remixed the track, giving it a softer, and in Oakey's opinion, "poppy" sound. Oakey hated the new version and thought it the weakest track on Dare, resulting in one of his infamous rows with Rushent.[4] Oakey disliked it so much that it was relegated to the last track on the B side of the (then) vinyl album. Before the release of Dare, two of its tracks—"The Sound of the Crowd" and "Love Action (I Believe in Love)"—had already been released as successful singles. To promote the new album, Virgin released "Open Your Heart" in October 1981, which hit #6 in the UK Singles Chart. With a hit album and three hit singles in a row, Virgin's Chief Executive Simon Draper decided to release one more single from the album before the end of 1981. His choice, "Don't You Want Me", instantly caused a row with Oakey who did not want another single to be released because he was convinced that "the public were now sick of hearing The Human League" and the choice of the "poor quality filler track" would almost certainly be a disaster, wrecking the group's new-found popularity. Virgin were adamant that a fourth single would be released and Oakey finally agreed on the condition that a large colour poster accompany the 7" single, because he felt fans would "feel ripped off" by the 'substandard' single alone.[5] The Human League often added cryptic references to their productions and the record sleeve of “Don’t You Want Me” featured the suffix of “100”. This was a reference to The 100 Club, a restaurant/bar inSheffield.[6] Today, the song is widely considered a classic of its era. In a retrospective review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine, senior editor for AllMusic, described the song as "a devastating chronicle of a frayed romance wrapped in the greatest pop hooks and production of its year."[7] Oakey still describes it as overrated, but acknowledges his initial dismissal was misguided and claims pride in the track.[citation needed] An urban myth has grown around the song that it is autobiographical. This is untrue. Susan Ann Sulley is often irritated that she constantly has to refute the mistaken belief that the song is a reference to her and Joanne Catherall joining the band.[citation needed] At only 17 years old when the song was recorded, she was legally too young by UK law to have been a cocktail waitress and was, in fact, still in Secondary School. Oakey is also at pains to point out another misconception, that it is not a love song, but "a nasty song about sexual power politics".[8] Chart performance and saleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Don%27t_You_Want_Me&action=edit&section=2 edit "Don't You Want Me" was released in the UK on 27 November 1981. To the amazement of the band (and especially Oakey),[9] it shot to number one on the UK charts. This success was repeated six months later in the U.S., with "Don't You Want Me" hitting #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks. Billboard magazine ranked it as the sixth-biggest hit of 1982. The single was certified Gold by the RIAA the same year for sales of a million copies. It is notable as the first song featuring the revolutionary Linn LM-1 drum machine to hit #1 on the UK charts and also the first LM-1 track to top the Billboard Hot 100. The song was remixed and re-released in 1995, peaking at #16 on the UK chart.[10] As of November 2012, "Don't You Want Me" is the 23rd best-selling single in the UK with 1.55 million copies sold.[1] On the 23rd March 2014 the song reached number 19 in the UK singles chart and number 1 in the Scottish singles charts thanks to a social media campaign by fans of Aberdeen Football Club.[11] Music videohttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Don%27t_You_Want_Me&action=edit&section=3 edit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sue_DYWM.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sue_DYWM.jpgSusan Ann Sulley in the 1981 "Don't You Want Me" video. In 1981 record company Virgin were becoming aware that the promotional music video was evolving into an important marketing tool, with MTV being launched that year. Because it was agreed that the video for Open Your Heart had looked "cheap and nasty", Virgin commissioned a much more elaborate and expensive promotional video for "Don't You Want Me". The video for the song was filmed in Slough during November 1981 and has the theme of the filming and editing of a murder-mystery film, featuring the band members as characters and production staff. Due to it being a "making of" video, both crew and camera apparatus appear throughout. It was conceived and directed by filmmaker Steve Barron, and has at its core the interaction between a successful actress (also a 2nd negative cutter) played by Susan Ann Sulley walking out on "film director" Philip Oakey on a film set. It is loosely based on the film A Star Is Born. Near the end of the video, Wright, who also plays a film editor, has an expression on his face, while the camera pulls back to reveal that the negative room where Oakey, Wright, and Sulley were working in is another set (the camera can be seen in the mirror's reflection). Filmed on a cold, wet, winter night, it was shot on 35mm film instead of the cheaper video tape prevalent at the time. Susan Sulley states now that Steve Barron was heavily influenced by the cinematography of the video for the Ultravox single "Vienna". Steve Barron was also influenced by François Truffaut and his film Day for Night, and because of that the clapper board seen in the video bears the inscription "Le League Humaine" as a tribute to Truffaut. The video is credited for making Oakey, Sulley and Catherall visual icons of the early 1980s but became controversial later for a scene involving the murder-mystery film subplot where Jo Callis appears to shoot Catherall (and later in the video repeated with Oakey shooting Sulley) with a pistol from a car window (a Saab 99 turbo). The scene is cut out of the DVD version and usually on music television, replaced with a montage of other shots from the video edited in slow-motion. The other car that was used in the video is a gold W-Reg Rover SD1 — an iconic car of the time. The video was released in December 1981, just as the music video culture was becoming an integral part of the pop music scene, and it was a major contribution to the song's commercial success. Charts and certificationshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Don%27t_You_Want_Me&action=edit&section=4 edit Year-End chartshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Don%27t_You_Want_Me&action=edit&section=6 edit 1995 Re-issuehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Don%27t_You_Want_Me&action=edit&section=7 edit | style="width:677px;vertical-align:top;"| 2014http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Don%27t_You_Want_Me&action=edit&section=8 edit Sales and certificationshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Don%27t_You_Want_Me&action=edit&section=9 edit |} Use in commercialshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Don%27t_You_Want_Me&action=edit&section=10 edit In 2001, Virgin Records allowed the song to be used in a Fiat Punto commercial, starring Myfanwy Waring and James Daffern, where the latter actor spoke lyrics from the first verse and chorus over the accompanying background music. Fiat's use of the song prompted legal action from The Human League, who lost the case to Virgin. Susan Sulley later complained: "Now even if we wanted to use the song for a more worthy company, we can't because it will always be associated with a particular brand."[32][unreliable source?] The song was later used to promote the Cascadia Showerhead by Waterpik and the Chips Ahoy! biscuit brand in the late 2000s. Use in televisionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Don%27t_You_Want_Me&action=edit&section=11 edit In an episode of Glee, "Blame It on the Alcohol," the song is featured as a duet between Rachel (Lea Michele) and Blaine (Darren Criss). This version was released as a single, and reached number fifty in Canada, forty-nine in the US, and forty-four in Australia.[citation needed] After, the song was released in Glee: The Music, Volume 5. Use in sportshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Don%27t_You_Want_Me&action=edit&section=12 edit A campaign was started by Aberdeen F.C. fans in March 2014 to get the song to number one in the UK Top 40 singles chart after their Scottish League Cup final victory against Inverness CT.[33] The fans sing an alternative version to the song which replaces the main chorus with the lyrics "Peter Pawlett Baby" after one of their most popular players, Peter Pawlett. The campaign received the backing of over 10,000 people on a Facebook page, as well as receiving coverage through local media such as Original 106 (Aberdeen) and Northsound 1 radio. The popular Aberdonian golfer, Paul Lawrie, who chose not to compete in a golf tournament in order to attend the final, promoted the campaign through his Twitter page. Numerous other public figures, including players such as Jamie Langfield joined in the campaign. The song was played on BBC Radio 2 on 19 March, with Steve Wright singing "Peter Pawlett Baby" as the song ended. This was the first time the campaign had reached national news coverage. The song peaked at #4 in the iTunes Download chart on 19 March 2014.[34] The following Sunday, 23 March, the song re-entered the UK Singles Chart at #19 and the Official Scottish charts at #1.[citation needed] Track listinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Don%27t_You_Want_Me&action=edit&section=13 edit 7" versionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Don%27t_You_Want_Me&action=edit&section=14 edit #"Don't You Want Me" – 3:57 #"Seconds" – 4:59 12" versionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Don%27t_You_Want_Me&action=edit&section=15 edit #"Don't You Want Me" – 3:57 #"Seconds" – 4:59 #"Don't You Want Me (Extended Dance Mix)" – 7:30 Covershttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Don%27t_You_Want_Me&action=edit&section=16 edit Mandy Smith versionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Don%27t_You_Want_Me&action=edit&section=17 edit |} In 1989 Mandy Smith covered this song. The song was released after her album Mandy (1988). It was also Smith's final single. This song has a B-side, "If It Makes You Feel Good", which appeared on Smith's debut album. ;Formats and track listings CD Single #"Don't You Want Me Baby" #"If It Makes You Feel Good" #"Don't You Want Me Baby" (Cocktail Mix) #"If It Makes You Feel Good" (Extended Version) 7" Single #"Don't You Want Me Baby" #"If It Makes You Feel Good" 12" Single #"Don't You Want Me Baby" (Cocktail Mix) #"If It Makes You Feel Good" (Extended Version) Chartshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Don%27t_You_Want_Me&action=edit&section=18 edit Alcazar versionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Don%27t_You_Want_Me&action=edit&section=19 edit |- | colspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;text-align:center;"| |} |} Don't You Want Me is a eurodance song performed by Swedish band Alcazar and released internationally in 2002. The song was included to the European version of''Casino'' together with a few other, and was recorded in Stockholm at first, but when they wanted it for a new pan-European single, a whole new version was made. The single was released in Australia as a follow up to the successful single "Crying at the Discoteque" and the release includes the "Ivan's X Mix" of CATD as a bonus. The white 12 inch was released in Europe and distributed to DJs to get maximum airplay at the disco arenas. So far "Don't You Want Me" is the biggest hit for the group in United States, climbing to No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and staying on the chart for 15 weeks. The Human League themselves have said that they like this version, as it is fairly true to the original; and Alcazar still performs this track at their live shows around the world. The song is playable on the Karaoke Revolution games. ;Music video The video was filmed at Filmhuset in Stockholm, and once again Jesper Ganslandt directed it all. As always in Alcazar videos the storyline takes place in "Alcazar world" – and this time it all took place in "Circus Alcazar". The video is filled with horses, ducks, an evil parrot, acrobats and the Alcazar ballet. The whole video shoot took almost 23 hours, and actually includes Annikafiore's boyfriend juggling with fire in the background The Alcazar dog Selma was styled in a pink ballerina dress and waited the whole day for the filming of her scene where she would perform jumps in the circus arena. Formats and track listingshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Don%27t_You_Want_Me&action=edit&section=20 edit These are the formats and track listings of promotional single releases of "Don't You Want Me". ;CD single #"Almighty Radio Edit" – 3:27 #"Almighty Club Mix" – 7:25 #"Project Eden Remix" – 7:34 #"Earth Club Anthem" – 10:24 #"Wild Cowboys Radio Mix" – 3:38 Chart performancehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Don%27t_You_Want_Me&action=edit&section=21 edit Other versionshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Don%27t_You_Want_Me&action=edit&section=22 edit *A cover of the song was the last successful single by Liverpool-based pop group The Farm, reaching #18 in the UK Singles Chart in late 1992. It was originally recorded for the NME charity album Ruby Trax. *Tatjana released a version in 1992. *Stephin Merritt project Future Bible Heroes recorded a cover of "Don't You Want Me" which is featured on Reproductions: Songs of The Human League. *Electronica band Hyper Crush recorded a cover version of the song for their Mixtape Volume 2 CD. *A cover of the song was performed as a duet on the hit show Glee by actor/singers Lea Michele and Darren Criss in season 2, episode 14 named "Blame It on the Alcohol". *A cover of the song was recorded by Atomic Tom for the soundtrack of the 2011 Michael Dowse film Take Me Home Tonight. The music video featured members of the film's cast. *American singer-songwriter Rocky Votolato and New York-based band Matt Pond PA performed a version of the song in May 2011 for The A.V. Club's A.V. Undercover series.[42] *A cover of the song was composed by the Electronic artist Leæther Strip which was featured on Yes, I'm Limited IV. The cover featured Unter Null. *A cover of this song appears on the album Picture Show by Neon Trees. Category:1981 singles